town

town
\ \ [OE] The ancestral meaning of town is ‘enclosed place’ – amongst its relatives are German zaunhedge, fence’ and Old Irish dūnfort, camp, fortified place’. Its Old English forerunner tūn was used for an ‘enclosure’ or ‘yard’, and also for a ‘building or set of buildings within an enclosure’, hence a ‘farm’. This in due course evolved to a ‘cluster of dwellings’, and by the 12th century the modern English sense of the word was in place (the standard Old English term for ‘town’ was burg, ancestor of modern English borough). The -ton ending of English place-names goes back in many cases to a time when the word meant ‘farmstead’.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • town — W1S1 [taun] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(place)¦ 2¦(main centre)¦ 3¦(people)¦ 4¦(where you live)¦ 5¦(village)¦ 6¦(not country)¦ 7 go to town (on something) 8 (out) on the town 9 town and gown ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [: Old English; …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • town — [ taun ] noun *** 1. ) count a place where people live and work that is smaller than a city: a small town an industrial town in China Mountains overlook the town on three sides. a town on the Mississippi River town of: the northern Wisconsin town …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Town — Town, n. [OE. toun, tun, AS. tun inclosure, fence, village, town; akin to D. tuin a garden, G. zaun a hadge, fence, OHG. zun, Icel. tun an inclosure, homestead, house, Ir. & Gael. dun a fortress, W. din. Cf. {Down}, adv. & prep., {Dune}, {tine}… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • town — [toun] n. [ME < OE tun, enclosed space, group of houses, village, town; akin to Ger zaun, fence, hedge, OIr dūn, fortified camp] 1. [Brit. Dial.] a group of houses; hamlet 2. a more or less concentrated group of houses and private and public… …   English World dictionary

  • town — (n.) O.E. tun enclosure, garden, field, yard; farm, manor; homestead, dwelling house, mansion; later group of houses, village, farm, from P.Gmc. *tunaz, *tunan (Cf. O.S., O.N., O.Fris. tun fence, hedge, M.Du. tuun fence, Du. tuin garden, O.H.G.… …   Etymology dictionary

  • town — ► NOUN 1) a settlement larger than a village and generally smaller than a city, with defined boundaries and local government. 2) the central part of a town or city, with its business or shopping area. 3) densely populated areas, especially as… …   English terms dictionary

  • Town — steht für: Stadt, im Englischen allgemein Town (Vereinigte Staaten), Siedlungsformen und Rechtseinheiten Town ist der Familienname von folgenden Personen: Harold Town (1924–1990), kanadischer Maler und Grafiker Siehe auch: Bell Town …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Town — /town/, n. Ithiel /ith ee euhl/, 1784 1844, U.S. architect. * * * (as used in expressions) Camden Town Group Cape Town new town town meeting * * * …   Universalium

  • town — index civic, community Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 town …   Law dictionary

  • Town —   [taʊn] die, / s,    1) im englischen Sprachgebrauch allgemeine Bezeichnung für kleinere Stadt.    2) Township [ ʃɪp], in den USA eine auf englischen Rechtstraditionen (Borough) beruhende, seit dem 17. Jahrhundert für Neuengland typische, später …   Universal-Lexikon

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